Our History

Nova Group began with building steam lines for the U.S. Federal Government at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. By the late 1970’s, Nova expanded its expertise in mechanical construction to several Bay Area military bases. During this time, Nova installed hundreds of thousands of feet of utilities, including steam and condensate piping, and performed marine construction, including cofferdams, drydock upgrades and wharf construction. Nova also installed high voltage power distribution systems, transformers and switchgear and emergency power generation facilities.

In the early- to mid-1980’s, two important events occurred that helped Nova grow its capabilities and expand as a company. First, Nova extended its work force farther West to Hawaii after the award of several new contracts for the U.S. Navy on Oahu. Hawaii provided a tremendous opportunity for extensive mechanical and utility construction projects, and soon Nova would establish itself as a respected contractor from the mainland, a reputation that it continues to hold today.

The second significant event was receiving ASME and government agency certifications to manufacture pre-insulated piping systems, containment piping and prefabricated piping. To date, Nova has engineered, manufactured, and installed over one million feet of Class A steam and condensate piping systems. In later years, Nova’s 50,000-square-foot fabrication facility in Napa would be certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction as an “AISC” facility, a designation which acknowledges that Nova has the personnel, organization, experience, capability and commitment to fabricate structural steel for complex steel buildings and simple steel bridges.

By the 1990’s, Nova’s mechanical expertise broadened to include aircraft hydrant fueling systems in addition to its extensive marine construction capabilities. The first hydrant fuel systems installed by Nova were primarily at military bases on the West Coast. Since then, this market has expanded to include hydrant fuel system locations throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Qatar and other overseas locations.

Today, Nova is a part of Quanta Services, a company with a net worth greater than $7.5 billion. Nova employs well over 200 construction professionals worldwide and has been awarded over $2 billion in government construction contracts. The hallmark of Nova’s success throughout its 40-year history is the principle of exceeding our customers’ expectations through innovative construction, safety, quality and outstanding customer service. Today, Nova is one of the nation’s most experienced and respected general engineering contractors specializing in hydrant fueling, waterfront and utility construction.